31^ 



THE HARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



them ivgu y watered, and to all appearance 



considerable 



they 

 time 



Esy., 





will continue in bearing for 



to come. John Moms, <jardcner to Thos.J\ lute, 



Wethi fold, &sex. .. ,. . 



The Man tare of Caoutchouc, and its application to 



various useful purposes, were introduced by the late 

 Mr. Chtrlts Macintosh and myself, upwards of .,0 years 

 ago and although the consumption was small at the 

 beginning, it lias grown now to a very large amount, and 

 is constantly inerea ig by numerous new applications, 

 both here and in other countries. The supply has 

 hitherto bee equal to the demand, but as the best 

 quality is obtained from South America, and I believe 

 from the Siphonia c .stica, I beg to inquire whether this 



flant may not be cult ated in Jamaica and the Last 

 ndies, and if so whether attention b1k uld not be called 

 to it in due time, since auy chance that may obstruct 

 the trad or diminish the supply, if obtainable only from 

 one source, may cause great inconveuience. Before 

 facilities were discovered for reducing the solid substance, 

 many attempts were made to obtain it in the natural 

 liquid state, as drawn from the tree, and in the year 

 1821 I succeeded in importing from Guatemala a con- 

 siderable quantity in a vuy pure state, of about the 

 colour and consistence of cream. I did not succeed in 

 obtaining any more from that quamor, but I some time 

 after employed a person at Tampico and that neigh- 

 bourhood to collect it, and two or three hundred barrels 

 of it were sent to mo at a great expense, but 

 it all became inspissated during the voyage, sepa- 

 rating from a dark liquor, and taking the form of a 

 portion of the barrel in a solid state. I have before me 

 a sample in a perfectly fluid condition, of a much 

 thinner consistence than the above, and which dries 

 much more slowly ; this has evidently been diluted 

 with ammonia, to which, I presume, it owes the reten- 

 tion of its fluidity. I have mixed sulphur with this 

 liquid, and when dried exposed it to heat in the ordinary 

 process of vulcanising with perfect success. I also 

 applied to it a solution of the chloride of sulphur, after 

 the patent of Mr. Alexander Parkes, and the conver- 

 sion was perfect, rendering the substance as insoluble 

 and cold-resistent as if vulcanised. Now, it is clear 

 that whether obtained in the solid or liquid state, this 

 substance is destined to take an important place in the 

 manufactures of this country, and this notice in your 

 Paper might possibly be the means of directing the 

 attention of competent persons to the cultivation of the 

 plant I some time ago mentioned the subject to Sir 

 W. Hooker, who was so kind as to say that he would 

 at any time render any assistance in his power to parties 

 disposed to make rtie attempt. If you should wish to 

 have a little of this liquid, I will send you enough to 

 enable you to make any trial of it you may think 

 proper. I have thought it would be useful for covering 

 grafts or green wounds in plants or trees ; in all cases 

 when this substance is to be exposed to the atmosphere 

 it should be blackened, or it is soon decomposed. 

 Thomas Hancock, Stoke Ncwington. [We should be much 

 obliged by a little of this liquid ; but we do not see how 



it is to be procured except in tropical countries.] 



One Boiler Plan of Heating. — The following are the 

 advantages and disadvantages of heating whole ranges 

 of houses by one boiler. Advantages — neatness and 

 less labour in having only one fire to attend to. Dis- 

 advantages — high cost of large boilers ; immense con- 

 sumption of fuel in consequence of the great draught 

 required ; and dreadful sacrifice of plants should an acci- 

 dent happen to the boiler during severe weather, when 

 such mishaps generally occur. Kensingtoniensis. 



Seeds for the Crimea. — It may be interesting to know 

 that our brave countrymen in the East have at least 

 some among them who are anxious to contribute to 

 their comfort and happiness. An order for seeds from 

 a district beic ravaged by war is somewhat novel ; but 

 such has been given by Captain the Hon. Henry Keppel, 

 of H.M.S. St. Jean de Acre, through the Admiralty, to 

 Messrs. Page and Co., Southampton, for a large supply 

 of permanent Grasses and vegetable seeds sufficient to 

 crop many acres of land. These were shipped in 

 cases of about 4 or 5 cwt. each, on board the R.M.S.S. 

 Medway, which left Southampton on Wednesday last, 

 with Artillery horses and men. j£& >io. 



The Weather. — On the night of May 2 one of my 

 thermometers 6 feet from the ground fell to 2(i Q , and on 

 that of the 4th to 24°. On this latter night there were 

 3° of frost at 10 p.m. Such severity in the month of 



reckoned peculiarly favourable for fruit gardening but 

 for these last eight years the spring frosts have been 

 ruinous to the fruit gardeners. Pyrus. 



] 



abit of making notes upon any subject in its columns 

 nn nee ted with the productions of China, I now send 



Foreign Correspondence. 



Leaves from my Chinese Note-Book : No. IX.— 



The Gardeners 9 Chronicle reaches me pretty regularly 

 upon the whole, although I sometimes get one month s 

 numbers before the others, or two months together, as 

 the case may be ; but whenever or wherever it comes 

 to hand it is always most welcome. As I am in the 



connected with the productions 



You some of these notes for the perusal of your readers. 



Chinese Yam (Dioscorea Batatas). — This esculent 

 seems to be attracting a good deal of notice in England 

 as well as in France, and is apparently considered by 

 some persons equal, if not superior, to the Potato itself. 

 It is very abundant in China but is not a staple crop, 

 like the sweet Potato, for example. Foreigners, as a 

 body, prefer it when roasted to the sweet Potato ; but 

 do not dream of putting it on a par with the common 

 Potato. However, I believe there is no vegetable of 

 the kind at present known more likely than this is to 

 take the place of our old favourite, providing it should 

 die out or become so diseased as to render its cultiva- 

 tion uncertain and consequently unprofitable. In 

 making this assertion, I am taking for granted that 

 the climate of England is suitable for the production 

 of the Chinese Yam, which I must confess I have some 

 doubts about I dare say it will prove hardy enough to 

 withstand an English winter, but are our summers hot 

 enough 1 or does not the want of summer heat account 

 for Mr. Thompson's failure in the garden of the Horti- 

 cultural Society 1 Experiments made in glass frames, 

 or with bottom heat, or even in the open air in a 

 summer which may be unusually warm, are all to be 

 guarded against in deciding an important question of 

 this kind. It ought to be kept in mind that the sweet 

 Potato, the Arum esculentum, the Nelumbium specio- 

 sum, and such like plants, are cultivated as esculents in 

 the north-eastern provinces of China, along with the 

 Yam. But should the summers of England prove warm 

 enough for its cultivation, I have no hesitation in 

 saying that it is more likely to suit the tastes of the 

 people than anything which has been brought forward 

 since the commencement of the Potato disease. 



Mosquito Tobacco. — Some amusing correspondence 

 has appeared upon this subject which I cannot take as 

 very complimentary to my last book, * A Journey to 

 the Tea Countries," &c, or to the retentive memories 

 of the readers thereof. Mr. Prideaux says (Sept. 9th), 

 "In answer to'R. A. II.' (see p. 565), respecting the 

 passage referred to in Fortune's book on China, I 

 have made the following note unfortunately without the 

 reference. * For keeping off mosquitos, the Chinese 

 use the resinous saw-dust of the Juniper smeared upon 

 Bamboo, which they find very efficacious." 3 Dr. 

 Hooker states " he has somewhere read or heard of the 

 plant in question being a species of Artemisia." The 

 following passage quoted from the book in question will 

 assist the memories of both correspondents, although 

 it will not add much to our information. " Various 

 substances are employed by the Chinese to drive away 

 mosquitos. This which we had just purchased was made 

 from the sawings of resinous woods — I believe procured 

 from Juniper trees — and mixed with some combustible 

 matter to make it burn. A piece of split Bamboo, 

 3 or 4 feet in length, is then covered all over with this 

 substance. When finished it is as thick as a rattan 



or small cane Various species of wormwood are 



likewise employed for the same purpose." * Since my 

 arrival in China on this occasion I have been making 

 further inquiries about this curious substance, but have 

 been met with considerable jealousy on the part of 

 the Chinese. One manufacturer more communicative 

 than his neighbours gave me a good deal of information 

 as to the substances employed, but when pressed as to 

 the proportions of each, suddenly changed his tone, and 

 coolly told me he knew nothing about it, that if I wanted 

 to buy it he would supply me with any quantity, that it 

 was cheap enough, and what could I want more. 

 Patience is a great virtue in China, and if I can only 

 exercise it, perhaps I may tell you something more by- 

 and-bye about Mosquito Tobacco. 



Hardiness of Chinese Plants in England. — I have 



did 



*t 



from Japan, 

 trial 



cornuta are no doubt „, ^- u v a8 our common fcrti 

 one. I do not observe it stated how Abies :~ a ** 

 stood the winter in England ; at Shanehae it 

 suffer in the least. This species was discovered 

 mountains near Foo-chow in Fokien, but I fan °^e 

 its apparent hardiness, it must have been inS^n!2 



" Diely tra spectabilis requires no £2 

 so says Dr. Lindley m a leading article l2 

 was a great acquisition, and almost worth a jouketi! 

 China itself. I can hardly credit my eyesight wh/ i 

 read that the Assam tea plant is hardy ; is there not 

 mistake here ? [No.] It is a fact worth nouaJIJi 

 while the winter of 1853-54 was a most severe J*^ 

 Europe, it was particularly mild on the eastern b& 2 

 Afcia. Ice was scarcely formed on the lakes and ^J, 

 about Shanghae and Ningpo, and all last sumn^thJ 

 Chinese were dependent on that which had been 



in 1852-53, and which the plain ice-houses (described i 

 the Gardeners 1 Chronicle for 1845) keep so well. & J* 



£ octette. 



Horticultural, May 8.— J. M. Strachak, Esq.. in Q» ehiir 



The Hon. J. K. Howard, W. Dent, Esq., C. Hulse, E*u ?. \ 

 Ohatfield, Esq ., J. Leeson, Esq., J. Wicks, Esq., A. F. PuW 

 Esq., and Mr. J. Shaw were elected Fellows. There wu titt 

 cellent exhibition on this occasion, the whole of the room* befog, 

 ing to the Society, and even the passages, being again OOfS 

 with plants, &c. The most striking objects were the C! 

 Azaleas, immense bashes of which, loaded with flowen, __ 

 from Mr. Grix, gr. to A. Palmer, Esq., of Cheam. The set* 

 were Bianca, Falconeri, and lateritia. The same grower ifco 

 exhibited a large plant of A. magna as a single specimti. Other 

 Azaleas were furnished by Mr. Todman, gr. to Mrs. Buckmafe^ 

 and Messrs. Gaines, Rollisson, and Chandler. Among then At 

 best were Perryana, Duke of Devonshire, Iveryana, and ail* 

 magna. In addition to the above, Mr. Frost, of Dropmow, hi 

 six seedling varieties, all promising kinds ; Messrs. Sttadftik 

 and Noble boxfuls of small plants of the white semi-double A, 

 narcissiflora, an example of A. amoena, crowded with hm! 

 purple flowers, and A. Bealli, a beautiful kind with white blc*. 

 soms striped and spotted with rosy salmon. These last tot 

 were introduced by Mr. Fortune. Messrs. Veitch sent two tw 

 fine pyramidal specimens of A. indica alba, and Messrs. Lo. 

 Henderson a pretty kind — salmon edged with white — eaOe! 

 Beauty of Europe. Pelargoniums, both fancy and other tiodf, 

 were exhibited by J. Allnutt, Esq., of Clapham, Mrs.Buckmaitffi 

 gardener, and by Messrs. Dobson and Turner. Mr. Doomi 

 plants, all of which were large and well bloomed, consisted 4 

 Eugenie, delicatum, Harriet, Rosamond. Arethusa, and Yok* 

 Mr. Turner had Governor-General, a brilliant variety: Pite 

 chio, Brilliant, Pandora, Lucy, and Rosamond. These, al tkeg 

 in less than 6-inch pots, were finely grown and remarkejill 

 for the size and substantial texture of their flowers. E» 

 last-named exhibitor likewise showed a collection oT PaUM 

 in pots, as did also Messrs. Dobson and Bragg. The mm 

 striking sorts in these groups were Uncle Tom, Great WHin^ 

 Emperor, Satisfaction, Comet, Duke of Perth, Earl of 

 field, Ophir, Sovereign, British Queen, Grand n «Mr 

 Joseph Paxton, Mr. Beck, Robert Burns, Fearless, drKJ 

 Darling, and Lady Carrington. Some well grown AuricuIMMi 

 Cinerarias were shown by Mr. Turner and Mr. Wiggins, j£» 

 Mr. Beck; as the names of the leading sorts of these flow"* 

 however, are given in another column, we need not occupy spe» 



with them here. , __ „.«., 



Of Rare Plants, Messrs. Rollisson had the h ft ^ , ^JJ2 

 brown-streaked Huntleya cerina, and the curious ^^J™" 

 Cymbidioides : Messrs. Veitch the pretty Khod()dendroii rum 

 Camille de Rohan ; Messrs. E. G. Henderson R. Dal . n a ° # ^r2 

 badly coloured ; Begonia picta, a sort with handsome «™' ~ 

 Genetyllis (Ilederoma) macrostegia, a greenhouse ^^ 



drooping crimson, bell-shaped flowers. The most 

 plant exhibited, however, was Genetyllis 



tea, nowever, was ueiictj mo tulip ifera, 

 there were two examples from Messrs^Bacfenouse,^^^ 



This species verv much resembles an Epacns in | »"- ^ 

 blossoms, which are as large as those of the C antero 1117 ^ 

 white or rather pale lemon streaked with bngnt reu. ]%mm 

 produced by flowers of such size and colours, wnen 1 ^^ 

 well brought out, as they were in this instauce, may 1^ t 

 well conceived. The same firm also sent Cattieya 

 small flowered variety of C. intermedia. Henders* * 



Of Miscellaneous Greenhouse Plants, f ess "'.^rriostfl«» 

 Pine-apple Place, had a collection, in which werew a ^^ 

 beautifully flowered ; Elseocarpus reticulars, anu^ ^ m 



i^^^^j^^ssm 



1 



May is, I belitve, unprecedented. The Apple blossom j read with great interest the remarks published from time 

 in this neighbourhood is fortunately not yet out, but the to time upon the effects of the severe winter of 1853-54 

 young shoots of the Lilacs and other shrubs appear on Chinese plants of late introduction. Such plants as 

 many of them as if burnt up, and it will be impossible Weigela rosea, Jasminum nudiflorum, Forsythia viri- 

 for some days to discover the extent of mischief done. j dissima, &c , I have always considered as perfectly 



mandra ericifolia. uu..iu.c»u«i >& -* — -- vr&aie ju- 



example of one of the best varieties of Cat f le ? ^ an \M 

 man a large Erica ventricosa grandi flora, Mr. ww Stal g* 



cimen of the Canary Island Statice Holfordi, an ° *":V^cosi**» 

 and Noble Rhododendron glaucum, and W e in ™° \ thiscflfl^ 

 an evergreen shrub which has not yet blossome u ^ ^ 



but which, even independent of its flowers, musi » gikkim Bfcii> 

 for the beauty of its foliage. The sweet-scemeu ^ c j^ 



dendron Edgeworthi came from Mr. ™ hltD "? ^ e *••? 

 Warner, Esq.; Messrs. E. G. Henderson seni g^^ * 

 Heaths and Deutzia gracilis in the torm 01 ^^ C j» 

 Allnutt produced a remarkably fine specimen ^ pot 

 furnished with branches and flowers quite ao* ^ Prot^S* 

 Of Fruit, Mr. Robinson, gr. to Lord Host m, t o the **£ 

 Pine-apple weighing 7 lbs.; Mr. Fleming , b ^ rj . ^p. 

 of Sutherland, a Moscow Queen, weighing o tfe> ^^q 



M'Ewen, gr. to the Duke of Norfolk at ^ n f " is hed, ©«*E 

 Queen, weighing 2 lbs. 10 oz. Mr. ^^^'Tgkiime* **£ 

 a hybrid white-fleshed Melon, a s ™ a " J® vur**h Grsff* *5. 

 said to be of great excellence. Black ^ ■ * camd (*+£ 

 both in bunch and berry and we 11 - co ouW ygm 



Clements of East Barnet; the Duke of S ntt m*^ M{t £* J 

 sent good fruit of the same variety J as aw ^^ ^ vv* 



The wind has now changed to the S.W., and it is to be 



hoped that we have seen the last of these unseasonable 

 frosts 



; rain and mild nights are sadly wanted, as the 

 Grass has 



looks as parched and dry as it usually does in March. 



Si. ^' ^ ^ n ^ )wor ^h Stevenage, Herts, May 7.— 

 The neighbourhood of London has again been visited by 

 o»e of those severe spring frosts which seem now to be 



hardy and suited for our climate, but I confess I was 



not so sanguine with regard to Cephatolaxus Fortuni, 



which appears to have proved itself as hardy as any of 



scarcely began to spring, and the country \ them. This is a great matter, considering the beauty 



-*-*"--*• " * • '- • of both varieties of this Chinese Yew. The Chusan 



Hemp Palm too seems to have established its claim 

 as a hardy Palm at last. I have long thought 

 that the species might produce the same marked 



sent good bunches, but unripe, ot v> nue Hill? gf. 1 



Hughes, gr. to J. Eaton, Esq. ; and ^^tor * ls0 Jfr^JH 

 Hall, Staffordshire; the last-name^ ; ^ etrf s cjjjjf* 

 Prince ; and three bunches of Vv ebt s ^ cfin&^Qot* 



Allport,gr. at Doddington Park •. ^^esn^J^r 

 staff Raspberries and Alice Maude gtrawD^^^. 

 of Norfolk's garden; Keen's seedling W wWgJ^; 



Taylor, gr. to W. Wood, Esq.; Brit **W Podding^ 

 Mr Mathew of Dulwich Common ; lw g^V^Zi 



"RMMr ftAosnn" and Normanton >>°* J Dre serv 



^ 



Betty Geeson" and 



excellent p 



Seedling or Wellington Apples, l *j ^ RanC e 



peer* 



frost, 



constant m their visitations. But the night of the 2d, effect upon our scenery as it does in that of the 

 w lien the thermometer at Chiswick registered 12° of j north-eastern province of China, more particularly 



in the southern counties of England and Ireland, and in 

 the mild climate of Edinburgh. The new Chinese Ber- 

 berries, in the class to which Berberis Bealei belongs, 

 are no doubt perfectly hardy ; they are much more °so 

 than Berberis Fortuni. The latter was much injured 

 by the winter of 1852 53 at Shanghai, while the former 

 stood perfectly unscathed. The Hollies I. furcata and 



tk 11 mor * ^e™ than any May frost on record. 

 The blossoms of the Plum trees, although not open, are 

 killed to a pi»t extent ; the petals are, however, white 

 and the stamps perfect, but the germ is in nearly all 

 C^es black and dead It will be of interest to kiow 



remarkably fine specimens oi ' »eu r , s0 beautitul 



given in the 

 below 28°. 



*, the thermometer did no^descerid 



* ormerly the environs of London were 



" A Journey to the Tea Countries of China and India," p. 179. 



the same kind of Pear from Mr. * w - — ver y 

 able the Speaker; and Easter beurre rea 



from J. Abell, Esq., of L} men f k ; ikew i S e sent, ** £fr I£ 

 The last-named gentleman »«™ is termed o*£ $& 







tSSt 



Asparagus (wh*t 



quite 





week, see p. 303, some Aspawgu. i oM qu»- As *»:~ 



markcts Sprue), frosted and urfj""^ of o&»*U&2m 

 the other/and along with i »" gUlttf t&V& 

 weighing's lbs. 5 oz. The Duke of ^ ^ .tt MJJ »J* 



of Broccoli, and a collection *!*>"£ »nd P«* &a *** 

 Beans, Ash-leaved Kidney , p £»j££les furnish ^ 

 examples of the same kind* of vegetaw 



